In the most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer had the following to say in regards to the current Ethan Carter III (EC3) situation:
We’ve had it confirmed that EC 3 is going to WWE. Real name Michael Hutter, 34, he owns the rights to the EC 3 name, plus Impact has already made it clear that they will allow wrestlers to use their gimmicks anywhere they want after the way legal went down with the Matt Hardy case. Whether WWE will want to use it is a different question.
This would tie in to two other reports that would seem to all but confirm that EC3 is en route back the WWE where he first started, first with Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and then the early days of NXT (as Derrick Bateman), before leaving to join Impact Wrestling, where he became a 2x Impact World Heavyweight Champion.
Earlier this morning, PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that EC3 was spotted at the WWE Performance Center this week in Orlando, while he was in town finishing up his commitments to Impact Wrestling at this week’s tapings.
The final piece of the puzzle is that on January 10, Renegade Wrestling Revolution announced that EC3 was forced to pull out of their upcoming indie event which happens to be on January 28 – the date of the WWE Royal Rumble.
With three reports seeming to confirm he’s heading to the WWE, it would appear that there’s a very real possibility that we could be seeing EC3 in the WWE before his final Impact appearances, and quite possibly as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble. EC3 also recently trademarked his character name, but there’s no word on if WWE would allow him to appear as EC3 or revert him back to his Derrick Bateman character.
